Funding for the development and expansion of digital services often comes from time-limited project grants. Funding gaps arise above all where such services are intended to be provided over the longer term and made available for use beyond the local or regional level. As more and more digital objects are created, curated and made available via digital services for a wide range of use cases, resource shortages become increasingly apparent.

The DFG is unable to fund the operation of digital services, but as a funding organisation, it can engage with the relevant stakeholders to discuss suitable approaches to financing. This includes discussing the prerequisites for the collaborative operation of digital services as well as the opportunities and limitations associated with transferring existing solutions.